December 10 - Insulating Above the Ceiling

The big event on Saturday was blowing fiberglass above the newly installed ceiling panels. The first target was to pile up twelve inches of the blown in material. Later I understand that fourteen inches was the new goal. This picture shows the fluffy stuff piled up like blown snow, but much warmer and not subject to melting. The red lines are not molten lava coming from a volcano but rather are laser marks delineating the desired depth. I did not stick my nose topside but Eric, who was among two or three others manning the business end of the hose, sent this picture to me.

The raw material comes in plastic wrapped bales. The bales are cut open and the fiberglass insulation is stuffed into a barrel. One guy cuts open bales and adds material to the barrel while another one shoves it down the throat of the hungry auger residing at the bottom, trying to stimulate a gag reflex action. The auger digests the material so fast that it immediately passes out the exit orifice where a cyclone generated by a monster fan carries the hapless fiberglass through a mile long hose well into the upper regions of the building where it is finally disgorged into piles on top of the ceiling panels.  Here Kevin is feeding the machine and Steve is trying to gag the auger.

When I first arrived on site Markus was using a long handled homemade paddle pusher but was not able to overpower the machine.

There were initially six pallets of the raw material on site but when the machine appeared to be devouring the entire first shipment, reinforcements were summoned and another sixty or so bales were retrieved.

 Ken had to use the forklift to maneuver the raw material near the glass eating monster. He was able to successfully deliver this pallet without dumping it all over the floor.
Hot Lunch on a Cold Day -
It is December in Minnesota so naturally it is cold outside. I expected it to be fairly warm inside the building, especially when I saw a vapor stream coming out the exhaust vent from the newly connected space heater. But once I got inside and saw all the workers bundled up with jackets, gloves and hats pulled down over their ears, I realized that winter is not yet defeated, even inside the structure. So the arrival of a steaming pot of stew seemed to be well received by the troops. Judging by the disappearance the guys seemed to be able to compete with the blue fiberglass eater currently residing in the kitchen. Tom leads the charge through the lunch line.

The high temperature on Saturday was in the high teens and inside the building was certainly warmer than that but it was not cozy warm. The guys working upstairs faced much cooler temperatures as they put in the stuff designed to keep the lower level warm. You can see the folks kept the winter weather gear on through lunch.
On Sunday I heard that a thermometer inside the building registered about 48 degrees. The space heater is working, but not very well. For some reason it was cycling often and not staying going. I suppose either some wise person will fix the machine or some additional heat source will be required.

While it was not in use on Saturday, I did see a device on site that was unfamiliar to me. An emergency pizza baker. I am not sure but it looks like it uses infra red to cook the pizza. It looks like a clever device but I am curious if it is really effective and if it makes a nice crispy crust. Thee cheese did seem to be melting, though. The turntable rotates slowly, like a very lazy Susan. If I get a chance to try it out I will do a complete review in a future post.

Septic System -
The weather turning cold did not deter the pyramid-building, septic-tank-interring, sewage-draining folks from doing their duty. I did not witness the burial but I did see the displaced dirt and the orange fence. Unlike the roof, the septic tanks do not require big concrete boots to keep them in place. They just stay where they are of their own accord. The fence is there to keep trucks from driving over the tanks. Or perhaps as a security measure in lieu of additional concrete weights.

Ken, who told me about the pyramids, also told me the pretty green tubes are called risers. Construction jargon baffles me again. I think of risers and imagine people responding to alarm clocks or choirs performing, but do not think of sewage systems. So I am still learning. Apparently the risers connect the concrete tank with the surface caps allowing the tanks to be pumped without digging down to the buried tank. Rather like a reverse filler spout.

The filler activity is provided by the pipe that will come out of the building. This pipe marks the spot where the drainage pipe will exit the building. I hope the pipe shown is only marking the spot and not intended to be a fountain.

Water Table Revisited-
I think I have this water table thing figured out. A strip of aluminum is run around the building at ground level. Just above it and covering the top edge of the strip is a band of green-treated plywood. Resting on top of the plywood is a bent aluminum flange that is also tucked under any window frames encountered. The siding will come down to the horizontal member of the flange. I think this whole assembly is called the water table, or it may be I am just revealing my ignorance.

 Bob figured that the aluminum strip was not quite up to snuff in this spot so he said it needed a patch.

 Andy is shown here fabricating the patch. Bob says Andy is a good fix-it guy. I have already seen this in action earlier when he made the bucks fit the openings and then made an opening for the buck. I agree. A good fix-it guy.

 Green Treated Lumber -
Chemically treated lumber, most, but not all, of which is green, is treated to help preserve the wood and keep it from rotting. The chemicals in the wood do not play well with all metals. On the water table, where the treated lumber is in contact with aluminum, there is apparently no problem with undesirable chemical reaction. The laminated posts in the firewall, however, were joined together with about 1,475 regular old nails. The posts seemed to tolerate the punctures well. However, the framing inspector said the chemicals in the lumber will cause the nails to deteriorate over time so reinforcements were called in.












Jacob Byman (I hope I have the name right) is driving in long galvanized screws to help out the nails. It is hoped that between the decomposing nails and the screws that the posts will remain happily joined together for a long time.